Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
materials are updated or new tools are made available (such as a house party kit
including a 20-min film and recipes cards). A few months after the kit is received,
advocates are emailed a survey document to record their activities. Their stories are
shared online to positively reinforce their actions and motivate others.
17.4.3
Reaching restaurateurs
Chefs and restaurateurs have consistently demonstrated interest in Seafood Watch
and the broader sustainable seafood movement. In a 2004 survey of restaurants in
Monterey, California, we learned that half of the restaurants changed their seafood
purchasing in response to either consumer demand or knowledge of the Seafood
Watch programme. In 2005 we launched our restaurant programme and today more
than 25 local restaurants have stopped serving seafood from our 'avoid' list, train
their staff about their commitment to sustainable seafood and how to respond to
customer inquiries, and have improved labelling of seafood on their menus. We
encourage all of our regional partners to work with restaurants, culinary schools
and other food-related businesses in their communities to help build the demand
for sustainable seafood.
In addition to our local effort, Seafood Watch recognises the value of engaging
celebrity chefs who can influence their peers in the restaurant/food service industry.
Since 2002 we have hosted the annual
Cooking for Solutions
R
event to celebrate
sustainable cuisine. This brings together internationally recognised chefs, local
chefs, sustainable seafood suppliers, organic food suppliers, retailers, the media,
conservation organisations and the public to raise awareness about the impact of
our seafood choices on the health of the oceans and the use of our purchasing power
to support sustainable sources.
This multi-day event annually honours a notable chef committed to working with
sustainable seafood and conveying this message to their peers, and includes culi-
nary celebrities such as Alice Waters, Jacques Pepin, Martin Yan and Rick Bayless.
Each May the event draws almost 10 000 visitors to taste signature dishes prepared
with sustainable seafood and other organic and environment-friendly ingredients
(Plate 17.6). The weekend continues with an information fair of conservation and
seafood industry organisations, free sustainable seafood sampling, cooking demon-
strations, fishing gear expositions, off-site tours of aquaculture facilities and organic
farms and a sustainable seafood cooking challenge.
At the same time, we host the 1-day Sustainable Foods Institute seminar to edu-
cate the print, broadcast and Internet media. The attendees represent outlets from all
aspects of the North American media (this includes Internet media), including USA
Today, TIME magazine, the Washington Post, Nation's Restaurant News and The
Splendid Table (syndicated on National Public Radio). In 2006, we documented
more than 50 subsequent media placements that previewed, covered or drew on
themes and information provided over the seminar weekend including features in
Coastal Living and Sunset magazines, and syndicated segments on PBS television
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